Filed under: SUV , Toyota , New Car Reviews , Off-Road What would you say if we told you that outside of Jeep and Land Rover , the best brand for those who want to go off road is Toyota ? Sounds remarkable, eh? But the truth is, Toyota’s history of providing vehicles for the rougher bits of our blue marble dates back to 1950, barely a decade after Willys built the first Jeeps and only a few years after Land Rover made its big debut with the iconic Series I. In fact, Toyota’s start in off-roaders was with a small contract for providing the US Army with vehicles, during the Korean War. From that, the BJ was spawned. This Jeep-like vehicle evolved into the 20 Series and then into the iconic 40 Series Land Cruiser in the 1960s. So yes, Toyota knows its way around the trails. While the Land Cruiser, deservedly, gets all the attention thanks to its impressive longevity, we’re partial to the 4Runner , which is a far more affordable entry that serves as Toyota’s challenger to the Jeep Grand Cherokee . For 2014, Toyota issued a light refresh of the fifth-generation 4Runner, which originally arrived back in 2009. You’ll recall that we already have a test of the off-road-oriented Trail trim level , thanks to our man Michael Harley.